Abbey Foregate Shrewsbury SY2 6LY
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Sir Offley Wakeman, a former chairman of the county council, on 25 July 1964. It was designed by Ralph Crowe, the County Architect, in the Modernist style, built at a cost of £1.8 million and was completed in April 1966.
Having visited and snapped way back in June 2024, I returned in October 2025.
I had been asked to speak to the Shrewsbury Civic Society, regarding the history of Modernism in support of their campaign to save Shirehall.
The previous County Council were disposed toward demolition, the current administration are a little more circumspect.
Shropshire Council is considering a return to its former headquarters, less than a year after it moved out. The authority moved from 1960s-built Shirehall in Shrewsbury to the Guildhall in Frankwell, and said doing so would save up to £600,000 per year.
At a meeting on Wednesday, cabinet member for finance Roger Evans said the Liberal Democrats, who lead the council, had paused the demolition and sale of the land, and may retain parts of the building – but only if it could afford to do so.
“We would like to retain the council chamber and some of the associated buildings, but we do need to take account for the cost both in cash terms and in net zero terms,” he said. “What we have done is paused this decision and asked experts to look at it again, look at the whole site, do a reappraisal. The results are just now being recieved.
“I want to keep it as much as we can afford, both environmentally and cash-wise. Whether we can or not will depend, the council is strapped for cash.”
BBC – 19 November 2025
We can only hope that this remarkable building is saved – minimising cost and ecological impact.
So take a look around on what was a very wet Autumn day.
Here is a previous post illustrating the building’s interior.
Modern Mooch 